For a long time I assumed that vegans were malnourished, starving and miserable – until I became one. However, does veganism = health?
Even six months ago I assumed- like many others– that vegans didn’t get enough protein and were weak and underweight. How wrong I was!
Multiple studies have actually proven that veganism is one of the healthiest diets. Although, just like every form of diet, you can always find a way to eat unhealthily. Of course veganism comes in all shapes and sizes so let’s look at the various type to determine if all vegans are healthier that meat–eaters:
Raw til 4
- This is a type of veganism where you only eat raw food until 4 O’clock and then after 4 you can eat any cooked food. I thought that this would be a little too hard and unrealistic to follow but it actually makes sense for your digestive system. Fruit and raw veg digests faster so it makes sense to eat this before potatoes and cooked starches. For breakfast you can have banana ice cream, smoothies or as much fruit as you want, lunch can be more fruit or a giant raw salad and before you know it you are able to eat rice and potatoes and yummy cooked goodness. This is great way to ensure you eat lots of fruit and veg to gain a wide variety of nutrients.
- Although raw food is known to be better than cooked (cooked food loses some of the enzymes and nutrients your body needs), this diet is very restrictive, making it so hard to socialize eating out and people tend to under eat and get stomach aches when adjusting to this diet. It is also expensive and I personally think that a healthy vegan diet needs wholegrains, nuts, seeds and nutrient rich beans and legumes. It may be cool to eat mangos three times a day, but is it truly a balanced enough diet? I don’t think so… Also lets face it, what kind of student can afford mangos?
Junk food vegan
- Yep. You heard me right. Junk food vegans exist. There is a vegan option for every junk food. Ice-cream? Try almond milk ice-cream or any dairy free ice-cream. Chili Doritos are vegan! Much sugary cereals are vegan! Skittles are vegan! Oreos are vegan! With endless vegan options (seriously, it is so much less restrictive then I would have thought) you can live off Oreos, crisps and chocolate and still be vegan. So yes you can be vegan and follow an unhealthy lifestyle. But like with everything, you should enjoy everything in moderation so basing your diet around any junk food- be it vegan or not- is not healthy in the long run (unfortunately.)
HCLF
- High Carb Low Fat vegan lifestyle is probably- in my opinion- the healthiest diet. It is all around eating plant based foods in abundance. You can eat porridge and bananas to your hearts content, feel satiated, have energy, get leaner, fitter and healthier. You try to keep fats low but can include overt fats like peanut butter or avocado for those macronutrients. This is such a flexible way of eating, so healthy and means you can eat bowls of sweat potatoes and feel healthy, lean and guilt free as everything is fast digesting, makes you feel energize and everything comes naturally yummy from the earth. It seems to be a win-win diet!
So yes vegans do tend to be healthier due to not eating the cholesterol and high saturated fats from meat and dairy that meat-eaters do. They also tend to eat more fruits and vegetables and scientifically are less likely to get heart disease or cancer. But veganism does not automatically mean healthy, as you can still be a vegan and eat a junk food diet. So don’t think every vegan is healthier than you, for all you know they have two tubs of vegan ice cream and oreos for breakfast.